Influencer Paul Kim’s Son, 5, Dies After Contracting Severe Case of the Flu

Influencer Paul J. Kim announced the death of his 5-year-old son, Micah, who passed away on Dec. 31, 2025, after complications from a severe case of the flu.

Kim shared the news in an emotional video posted to Instagram on Thursday, Jan. 1. “After fighting 11 long, hard days, Micah went home to the house of our Father,” he said.

“We are so proud of him,” Kim continued. “From the bottom of my heart, as his dad, on behalf of my family, thank you for all the ways you prayed for us and lifted us up during this incredibly difficult, impossible time. It’s been the hardest thing I’ve ever been through, and it continues to be.”

While asking for privacy as his family grieves, Kim said he felt compelled to update his followers out of gratitude. “Micah is already in heaven at work,” he said, describing what he believes are countless ways his son’s story has touched others. Kim noted that his posts have reached all seven continents and that his profile has been viewed more than 50 million times in the past two weeks, with messages of prayer and support pouring in.

During Micah’s hospitalization, Kim said he met a woman whose two-week-old baby was in intensive care. After a conversation about faith, the woman later asked Kim to baptize her child. With permission from his spiritual director, Kim performed the baptism at the hospital.

“How does this happen in the midst of all we’re going through?” Kim said. He reflected on the uncertainty surrounding his son’s final days, noting that while Micah’s body remained present, he believes his soul was already with God. “Even then, God was using him in miraculous ways.”

Kim also described the agonizing decisions his family faced. “For those two weeks, we fought long and hard,” he said, explaining that they consulted legal, medical, and ethical teams to ensure nothing was overlooked. “As a father, that was my duty—to do everything possible for my son, even if it wasn’t meant for him to recover.”

Returning home without Micah, Kim said, has been one of the most painful experiences of his life. “Coming back to a home where Micah isn’t running around, laughing and screaming like he usually does—it’s heart-wrenching.”

Kim, who has more than 300,000 followers and frequently shares content about his Catholic faith, first revealed on Dec. 21 that his son had been hospitalized following a medical emergency that required an ambulance. In later updates, he explained that Micah’s influenza had led to sepsis and seizures, necessitating life support. He also shared that scans showed no detectable brain activity.

On Christmas Eve, the family marked the holiday by attending Mass together inside Micah’s hospital room. In a Christmas Day message, Kim wrote about the depth of their grief while expressing gratitude for the strength he felt through his faith and the support of others.

Micah’s story resonated widely online, drawing messages of compassion from thousands of people. Among those offering prayers was singer-songwriter Gwen Stefani, who commented on one of Kim’s posts with a message of support.